It didn't take Matt Oberste long to get his record setting hit on Thursday night. Oklahoma's junior sluggers jumped on the first pitch that was offered by Kansas hurler Frank Duncan and sent it over the left field fence for a three run blast. It would be the 28th consecutive game that Oberste would record a hit it, setting an all-time Oklahoma baseball record. It also started a rout that would give the Sooners their twelfth consecutive victory and place them at 4-0 in conference play.
"I'm glad I got to keep it going, and to hit a home run to extend the hit streak and break the record was just an exclamation point on everything." - Matt Oberste
Oberste's homer put OU up 3-0 at the end of the first and, after adding another run in the bottom of the fifth, the Sooners exploded for four runs in the eighth and four more in the ninth for a 12-1 win. Oklahoma recorded a total of thirteen hits in the game by eight different players and with five of them recording two hits each.
Thursday Night's Big 12 Baseball Scores
|
West Virginia |
11 |
New Orleans |
2 |
Morgantown, W. Va. |
|
Oklahoma |
12 |
Kansas |
1 |
Norman, Okla. |
|
Oklahoma State |
5 |
Texas |
8 |
Stillwater, Okla. |
|
Baylor |
2 |
Kansas State |
3 |
Waco, Texas |
From the mound, Oklahoma's Jonathan Gray was masterful. The Sooners' ace pitched a complete game, fanning 12 of the 29 batters that he faced and allowed just one run to score on two hits. The win improved his season record to 5-1 and lowered his ERA to 1.34 on the season. Most importantly it saved Oklahoma from needing to use the bullpen, thus saving the entire relief staff for the final two games of the series.
The Sooners and Jayhawks play game two of their series Friday night at 6:30 p.m.